U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds is leading in Florida’s Republican gubernatorial primary, according to a recent survey by the James Madison Institute. The poll shows Donalds with 49% support among likely Republican primary voters, just one percentage point shy of an outright majority.

Primary Election Landscape

Lt. Gov. Jay Collins trails Donalds at 18%, followed by former House Speaker Paul Renner at 8% and businessman James Fishback at 4%. The survey of 1,400 registered Florida voters was conducted from July 20 to 26 by Targoz Market Research and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.62 percentage points.

On the Democratic side, former Republican congressman David Jolly leads with 47% among likely Democratic primary voters, while his nearest opponent, Dayna Foster, captured 4%. Over 40% of Democratic respondents remained undecided following the departure of Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings earlier this year due to a medical diagnosis.

General Election Matchups

In head-to-head general election matchups, Donalds leads Jolly 45% to 38% among likely voters and 40% to 36% among registered voters. Collins performs similarly against Jolly, leading 44% to 39% among likely voters. Both Republican candidates retain over 75% support within their own party, while Jolly secures at least 80% among Democrats in either scenario.

The James Madison Institute, which commissioned the survey, is a conservative think tank based in Tallahassee. The poll reveals a notable gap among no-party-affiliation voters, who number roughly 3.8 million in Florida. Among these independent voters, Jolly leads Donalds 36% to 19%, with over 40% undecided.

Donalds has also received an endorsement from Leading the Future, a pro-artificial intelligence super PAC backed by tech investors. He has advocated for cryptocurrency policies in Congress, sponsoring the Reserve and Stockpile Act to establish a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and proposing a state-level Bitcoin reserve for Florida.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.